It may seem paradoxical – yet as the recession bites and building projects grind to a halt, a record number of British students are applying to study architecture. With so many architects underemployed, or plain unemployed, surely these legions of young people must be either oblivious to what’s going on around them, or else slightly mad?

A compelling article from the TIMES ONLINE, discusses the current situation for architecture students in the UK, which also applies to the U.S.

From the article: “So, what do you go into architecture for? Iain Borden, the head at Bartlett, puts much of the rise down to the Grand Designs factor. “Architecture is much more visible nowadays,” he says. “It’s on the TV. Icon projects are a factor. Students see them on adverts or on holiday. People such as Norman Foster are household names.”

Allen agrees. “We get students at 18 who all like Foster and the Guggenheim in Bilbao and Santiago Calatrava. Architecture is a bit cool. But it’s also a career, so the parents like it too. Everyone’s happy.”